Indiana Pacers point guard Tyrese Haliburton has shared his thoughts on John Cena’s brief heel turn — a run that, according to him, didn’t fully convince him. Earlier this year, Cena adopted a bad-guy persona for the first time in two decades, even capturing the Undisputed WWE Championship. However, after five months, he returned to being a babyface ahead of his title defense against Cody Rhodes at SummerSlam.
On the debut episode of his podcast Self Made Sessions, Haliburton explained that while he enjoyed the “pipebomb” promo following the turn, he would have preferred it to unfold differently, with a stronger justification and perhaps the formation of a faction.
I was fine with it, but I’m glad we left it behind and that he’s a face again. I was at SummerSlam, and when the colors hit, the reaction was incredible. The match between Cena and Cody is the best I’ve ever seen live. I wasn’t necessarily a fan of the bad-guy storyline, but I enjoyed the pipebomb — I think he had fun doing it, too. I wish there had been a better explanation for why he turned heel, or that he had faced The Rock, or that there was a faction. But I’m going to pretend it never happened — to me, he was a face the whole time.
This isn’t the first time Tyrese Haliburton has crossed paths with the wrestling world. In June 2024, the Indiana Pacers guard appeared in a WWE SmackDown segment alongside Jalen Brunson, taking part in the contract signing for an NXT title match. That appearance, blending the NBA with the WWE universe, was widely discussed and resurfaced months later during playoff promotion.
The connection didn’t stop there. In May 2025, Haliburton was announced as a playable character in the WWE 2K25 video game, as part of the “Dunks & Destruction” pack. Later, at SummerSlam 2025, he once again made waves — getting booed by part of the crowd and reacting with humor, even interacting with John Cena mid-match. With this background, his opinions on “The Champ” carry extra weight, as Haliburton isn’t just a casual fan but someone who has experienced WWE’s atmosphere up close.
At Solowrestling, we’ve been critical not of John Cena’s heel turn itself, but of the way the bad-guy storyline was handled. You can hear my own thoughts in spanish on the matter in the video below.
